It is quite important for the health and well-being of a pet to not only be fed properly but to also provide stimulating activities. Pets which become bored oftentimes become destructive not only of their surroundings but also of themselves. Animals which are not appropriately stimulated can actually suffer adverse health effects and as a consequence, proper pet stimulation is a significant consideration of virtually all pet owners.
In addition to pet stimulation, generally, pet cats require surfaces upon which they can scratch. If an appropriate scratching surface is not provided, cats will use any available surfaces, including upholstered furniture, drapes and rugs to satisfy their need to scratch potentially causing significant damage.
There have been a variety of cat scratching devices available in the marketplace for quite some time. The most successful of such devices have surfaces which will eventually be worn requiring replacement. Such surfaces include, for example, carpet, sisal, corrugated cardboard, rope and natural fibers.
To stimulate a pet cat and to encourage it to selectively use a dedicated scratching device rather than furniture, rugs, drapes and the like, it is common to apply raw catnip or silver vine in the form of ground catnip or silver vine leaves to the scratcher surface. The effect of catnip and silver vine on virtually all feline species is well known. The dry leaves of the catnip and silver vine plants express a mint-like scent. They are euphoric stimulants, although they are not toxic. This “catnip response” is due to the plants' active ingredient, nepetalactone. Similar response is observed as a result of silver vine's active ingredient actinidine.
When a cat smells catnip or silver vine, it characteristically exhibits a range of behaviors somewhat dependent upon the age of a cat, genetics, and whether it is capable of reproduction. Most reactions last from 5-to-15 minutes and include sniffing, licking and chewing, chin and cheek rubbing, hip and head-over roll and body rubbing. The feline receptor for the active ingredient, nepetalactone or actinidine, is contained within the animal's vomeronasal organ located above the feline palate. The location of the vomeronasal organ may explain why cats do not react from eating gelatin capsules of catnip. The nepetalactone and actinidine must be inhaled for it to reach the receptors in this organ.
As noted, when catnip and silver vine have been employed in the past, they have been applied in dry form or sprayed on as a derivative to the scratcher surface. Applied in this manner, they are readily consumable and relatively short lived due to their free access to the cat or other animal.
It is thus an object to the present invention to provide a cat scratcher which benefits from the use of catnip and silver vine but in a way to make them more effective over a prolonged period of time.
Recognizing that all scratchers use an adhesive in one form or another, it is an object to the present invention to incorporate catnip or silver vine into a suitable adhesive either used in the manufacture of cardboard bodies or to adhere scratcher materials to their rigid supports to prevent the cat from unfettered access to the catnip or silver vine source thus extending the life of the catnip or silver vine far longer than comparable products of the prior art.
These and further objects will be more readily apparent when considering the following disclosure and appended claims.